Chapter 5
They loaded the men and women separately, as if the invaders feared the businessmen who had spent three months belittling the women would turn to them for help, the two sides working together to overthrow their captors.
Maybe the Vamps couldn't tell what the last three months had been like, but Mindy knew about their women. Fierce, warlike, all-conquering types.
Why would beings whose women were so fearless and deadly expect human women to be so different that she and Candy wouldn't be any threat on their own? And how could they look at the way the women were dressed and not understand what had been going on?
But their captives were human. So maybe the vamps had figured it out right. Because if she got a chance to free the men from the condo, she figured she'd do it.
Currently it looked unlikely. The Vampyren came to Earth with ships that could cross interstellar distances and then didn't have to because they'd mastered wormhole tech. Flip between worlds. None of that curiously boring transport between far flung stars for the invaders.
Somehow that added up to the Vampyren on Earth using whatever vehicles they got their hands on.
Which was whatever they liked. There had been reports from rogue television news stations in the beginning, before it was determined that letting humans have their news reports back kept them both in line and depressed.
The reports said tanks had shown up in strange places and were used for the most commonplace reasons because even Vampyren had to do various routine tasks.
They'd also commandeered helicopters and massive numbers of motorcycles, but they steered as clear of passenger jets as Mindy herself did.
For the trip from the condo to Caesars, they piled their prisoners into the backs of U-Hauls.
"We have to get out of here," Candy said. She'd made her way over to Mindy where she was slumped against a wheel well, slid down the wall and put her back to Mindy's, starting to scrabble at the zip ties.
Mindy hadn't found a lot of reasons to laugh in recent months, but now she did. "Do you have the slightest idea what you're doing?"
"None," Candy said without breaking stride.
Mindy turned her bemused expression on Taylor and Sarah, only to find they were doing the exact same thing.
For just a second it seemed like the plastic strips on her wrists were getting tighter, threatening to cut off her circulation, and then Candy said, "No," rather sharply to herself and reversed whatever she was doing and suddenly Mindy had the use of her hands back again.
At the same time, Taylor suddenly jerked her hands around to the front of her body, staring at them as if surprised.
Instantly Candy and Sarah turned their backs on Mindy and Taylor.
"See if you can get the door open," Taylor said, standing in the swaying van. Sarah had already moved to the rolling door at the end of the van and Mindy went with her.
"Shouldn't there be some kind of failsafe or panic bar or something?" Taylor asked and Sarah, behind her, said, "I know what you really mean, but a panic bar sounds like a great solution right now."
Mindy lost herself for a second, thinking Margarita with more longing than made sense. She wanted all her senses functioning right now.
Which was when the vans stopped.
The four of them looked at each other. "Weapons?" Candy asked and they scattered to the four corners of the van, searching for tire irons or Jack stands or hammer, wrenches, crowbars, anything that might be found in a moving van.
They found tape. A couple folded up boxes. A sweater someone had lost. Dust. One box cutter.
"Shit," Mindy said in unison with Taylor.
And the back of the van opened.
They rushed their captors. Smashed into them with all their body weight and their freed limbs. Sarah actually made the vampyren she ran into rock back on his feet. Right before he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her over his head, staring up at her like she was something he wanted to throw.
"Put her down." That was Pan. "You heard him."
The invader holding Sarah glared at the other Vampyren for long enough that Mindy felt her heart begin to jackrabbit in her chest, the dark spots of blackout closing in.
Then with a glower he lowered her back down, only dropping her the last few inches. His glare took in all four of them. "Run, and I will personally hunt you down and kill you."
The invaders held weapons but the size and strength of the vampires themselves was the biggest deterrent. They were fast, strong and deadly.
And they enjoyed making their kills.
The harem was confined to midlevel floors of the hotel. They had views of the city but no windows that would open. They had the run of the floors, but no way off them – the doors that led to stairways were chained shut and the elevators locked down.
Candy started to shake once they were locked onto the floor and Mindy put an arm around her, walking her back to the suite the four of them would be sharing.
A handful of girls joined them, Asian, African American and a pale white girl with a southern accent, who was the one who started talking.
"We try to give everybody time to adjust," Shauna said, leaving the door to the hallway open but following Mindy and Candy in. "Just thought you guys needed a welcome wagon."
Across the room Sarah was pacing angrily in a kitchen equipped with no sharp knives or forks, no glass mugs or water glasses, nothing that could be used to hurt men twice her size.
Taylor had slumped onto a couch near the window.
Candy, though, had started to hyperventilate. Shauna, the girl from Georgia, put an arm around her, carefully nodding to Mindy. "Come with," she said. "And don't tell." She led them a circuitous route to the end of one hallway.
Mindy was about to protest because it was a narrow hall for such a luxurious hotel and it was going to make it worse for Candy. But then she felt the Nevada wind coming in and met Shauna's eyes fast.
Shauna smiled. "A few of the windows open.
This one's above a drop-off on the roof and there are nets under the windows.
Not attractive, but when everything started going bad at first the owners put nets around the building because there were people jumping.
" She shook her head, as if bemused. "They didn't even wait to see how things were going to pan out.
I mean, does anyone think it's all over for the human race? "
None of them answered her, so she just shook her head and said. "Anyway, the result was they put nets out to catch people so it's okay for the windows to open, though nobody knows this one is."
Candy had pulled away from her, not even sounding like she was listening to the other two. She braced her arms on the windowsill and leaned her head out. After a couple minutes her choppy too fast breathing eased.
"Thanks," Mindy said, and introduced herself.
Shauna introduced Gina and Jennifer. "We'll give you guys time to get acclimated and then give you a tour of the floor. And a rundown of what's expected."
Mindy felt her muscles go rigid, but it was Candy who turned and said, "Don't bother. We're not going to – "
Shauna moved fast, putting one hand over her mouth and darting her eyes around the hallway. "Far as we know, nobody is listening to us. Vamps don't think a lot about girls. But maybe you need to consider what you want to have overheard. Just in case."
The tension in Candy's muscles drained slowly. She leaned away from Shauna's now unnecessary hand and into Mindy.
"Thanks," she said again. "I don't know about anyone else but I'm not up for a tour right now. My only question is what's the life expectancy here?"
Shauna raised one brow. "Good question. Don't have an answer. It's whatever they decide. This is harem. They're not going to kill you flat out unless something fucks with their view of things. Try to run. Try to fight. Hurt one of them."
"Has anyone?" Mindy asked.
It was Jennifer who answered, laughing as she ran her hands through her 'fro. "Urban legend time, girls. Listen to me."